**POST & COMMENTS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**

Time for some breaking news from the Department of Pre-Emptive Strikes And Damage Control.

Only five more days until the release of Dead Ever After, and the fandom is BUZZING! Expect to see lots of pre-release tidbits appearing over the coming days, starting with one from the latest issue of EW, scanned below.

In this publicity piece, dear reader, you will be schooled on what REALLY happened in the Sookie Stackhouse Novels.

For example – did you know that Bill Compton’s trunk attack in Club Dead was nothing more than an attempted assault? It was not, in fact, an ACTUAL RAPE. Fancy that.

I’m so glad that’s cleared up! I would hate to finish this series under the obviously erroneous impression that what’s written on the pages is what actually happened.

Also, all that stuff they told you on the cover blurb of Deadlocked about Sookie and Eric’s problems with Felipe, and Eric being framed for murder? That isn’t really what Deadlocked was about! I guess they just printed that on there to sell lots of books, or something. Deadlocked was really about Sookie discovering she has feelings for….Sam!

252 thoughts on “Smells Like White Wash”

‘Poor’ Charlaine.
She doesn’t want to be answering questions about the “$ookie $erie$” for the rest of her very ‘rich’ life, so she wrote the Coda. Now she won’t have to worry about those pesky reader$ asking her questions she can’t remember. You know, about her own series of books that made her stinkin’ rich.

I have been a fan of S/S from the beginning, and I never interpreted DL that way, either. In fact, the way the last few books were written, I was coming around to the idea of a S/E HEA and was actually looking forward to it.

Especially after reading the blog entry when this witch is defeated, I think that was it.

After lots of reflection–maybe I only have myself to blame for this total disappointment. CH has displayed a complete dislike for Eric and vampires for quite some time. In fact, didn’t she say that she couldn’t think of anything worse than being bitten by a vampire? I should have taken her at her word. I didn’t want to believe that the story really was that shallow. I could not believe that all along she was preaching about values and small town life and acceptance into the “right” crowd. I thought all the introduction to supernatural life for Sookie was a way to help her grow, evolve and accept the fact that she was also a supernatural being. It seemed like her relationship with Eric was a flawed romance and those flaws made it seem real to me. Not in a million years did I think that she was going to have Sookie choose the “also ran” boyfriend. Even after she had Sookie use the CD on Sam-I thought, “Oh, I can’t wait to see how she cleverly explains this!”. It just did not seem possible. Many others have pointed out the inconsistencies, so I won’t go there. Of course, I wanted Sookie and Eric to end up together, but it would have been totally plausible to have the heart ache of the break up continue to allow us to read about Sookie’s bravery and strength. Instead, the Sookie I thought of is like a different person. Based on how this book ends–Sookie is nothing but a selfish brat. And then Pam-one of my favorite characters in the whole series-she just gets portrayed as a cold jerk. CH really does seem to hate vampires and all things supernatural. I could not imagine an author creating a world full of creatures that she despised. But if that is what CH was writing all along, then I guess I am the fool.

So that’s what “Deadlocked” was all about, eh? I am a duffer, aren’t I. I thought it was about lots of other stuff, and I also thought I read Sookie say, “What was the only thing I valued? His love.” And she was talking about Eric. Or at least I thought she was talking about Eric. That’s what the book I read said. But I must have been reading a different book. Or maybe I dreamt it. *spits* *hisses* *sharpens claws*

To be fair (and perfectly clear), Harris didn’t write this article. Pre release publicity like this is handled by the publisher. But what I find curious (and the reason I posted it), is because there’s been quite a bit of historical “revision” of this series, particularly of the trunk rape. Those who have read the character bios in the Companion know what I’m talking about.

It appears that’s going to be the MO for dealing with the backlash over this ending.

I think your take is pretty reasonable SVB. The suspicion that there’s been some damage control afoot seeps in on that last summary (for DL). Interpreting the last few paragraphs of DL as Sookie realising she has feelings for Sam is damn debatable based on my read of the entire series. Hell, even after the use of the CD I still believed Sookie’s many declarations of love for Eric. How stupid am I. Never mind the ‘delicate conversation’ she was going to have to have with Sam. Now I see that was just another deliberate attempt to throw the EL’s off the stench of a Sookie and Sam HEA endgame.

I thought the delicate talk was going to be along the lines of, “Don’t read too much into what I did. I love you, but only as a friend. Eric is the one I am in love with; against my better judgment sometimes, but he’s the one who owns my heart.”

What? “Tries to feed on and assault Sookie”? Tries? Rape is rape. I would hate to see what she would have looked like if her “really” had “assaulted and fed from” her. This marketing is totally disgusting.

In the “Companion” in the area that’s the synopsis for “Club Dead” CH uses the “rape” word to describe what happend. No fuzz on that. Unless….someone else wrote it after the final edits and CH “didn’t catch that” or something…. Sheesh….the lack of continuity is frightening.
Pat

SVB, I take your point that Charlaine did not write this. But I can’t read this article. It is all too much for me and I feel too manipulated already to continue reading this BS. But I truly thank you and all the members of this blog for sharing your insights on this series, for making me laugh so hard that I forgot all my problems and for introducing me to the Sookieverse and, most of all, to Alexander Skarsgard.

I am not going away but I cannot deal with this. Yes, I will get a life one day…

******PLEASE READ ********
Ladies, I know everyone is really hurt and angry but there is no place for name calling, or character slurs. I have had to edit a lot of posts for this today. Please understand this is not OK and if it continues your post won’t go up at all.

The best way to get your point across is to make it reasonably and without name calling. I know you guys don’t need to resort to that.
SVB

Honestly though I could kick myself for not seeing the sub-text in the whole series. Bill didn’t sexually assault Sookie at all, the vamps and the supes were merely a distraction from the main story which was about a small town (slightly dim) waitress who has special powers she doesn’t want to use who marries her boss and settles down in the small town she grew up in, raising lots of children behind a picket fence. Women all over the country rejoice as 20 years of feminist ideals gets washed down the pan.

agreed. i was reading the “attempted” and i was shaking my head because reading what was written in the books and applying what penal laws says, that was definitely rape. no attempted about it. gosh.. it feels like that article author doesnt even know what she’s talking about.

im enjoying reading all the snarky comments here by the way if anything, you comments are more entertaining than how series ended.

Bet CH was truly shocked that so many people haven’t, and won’t, buy her load of “Sam HEA” crap. Well, that’s what you get when you spend an entire series slowly evolving two characters towards each other then BAM, suddenly decide right at the last minute to force two all-but opposing characters into a painfully obvious relationship.

Along with rewriting her rape as a non-rape scenario (which I find incredibly insulting), I guess we’re also supposed to be forgetting all the times Sookie referred to Sam as a friend, too? What all ELSE are we supposed to conveniently forget – oh, yeah, THE ENTIRETY OF ERIC AND SOOKIE’S RELATIONSHIP, I guess…ugh.

And oh, yeah…why did CH spend the series “humanizing” Eric only to, pardon the bad pun, “revamp” him at the end??? This whole thing seems too weird to me. Glad I won’t waste any more of my money on her products.

I did not think it could get any worse, so there, artistic integrity means nothing, I’m so happy that I threw away the books I had, as she had not already been done for me as a writer forever.
write the end you want, just have respect for the readers and do not treat them as a money tree.
What do we always say? if a writer does not make it clear in the books what she wanted, and not “explain” through other means, what happened to the books should be enough, it is the mark of a good writer.

I downloaded a new book last night onto my Kindle, and when I went to go look for it, it was right underneath DR and DL. Instead of being quick to erase them, it made me sad to look at them. I will still erase them but it’s such a shame.

From CD: “Ow he said. His voice sounded rough, his throat was sore. He had stopped taking blood. Now another need was on him, one closely related to feeding. His hands pulled down my sweatpants and after a lo of fumbling and rearranging and contorting HE ENTERED ME with no preparation at all. I screamed and he clapped a hand over my mouth. I was crying, sobbing, and my nose was all stopped up and I needed to breathe through my mouth……” bla, bla, bla…

Yeah, it’s a little hard to ascribe direct blame to CH for this, and you’re right, CW, her people should have flagged it and likely someone did okay it, but I think we can put most of the blame at the feet of EW & HBO. The Bill bias at Entertainment Weekly has been there for a long time, and that comes straight from HBO corporate suits, as both companies have the same parent in Time Warner.

Really? What’s so interesting about Bill? He look constipated all the time. I guess “tries and attempted” looks better. This is so insulting. I think I’m finally done. I need some funny book to read to cleanse my mind.

Let’s be clear – Charlaine Harris did not call it attempted assault – the woman who wrote the article called it that. It was rape pure and simple – blame the writer of the article for calling it something else.

Well, let the new medial blitz begin and operation ‘Cover your ass’! There are a lot of things about her writing that I have been silent about but I can’t do that any longer. The reason I stayed silent was because I figured she was leading us down a path she started IMO since book one. I ignored all the continuity issues and the things she simply forgot about from her previous books in the series all because I thought she has a ending that was worth what she had been selling. I ignored the fact that she doesn’t take notes and keep track of what she has written, despite the fact that this is where she looses all credibility.

I ignored the fact that she let a fan write emails between two of her characters, I would have been territorial about this. There are so many things I could have said but I was not going to be one of those fans that tried to tell her how to write her book series, or that she was writing it wrong and her characters were now OOC. I was being nice because I genuinely believed she was going to take Sookie to the place we all felt she was going and we ended up with shit for character growth because she had no fight left in her. What a way to bring down your protagonist Charlaine! BRAVO!

I totally agree, I feel like I have been making excuses for her for years, to myself and others, because I gave her far more credit than was due that there was actual meaning behind her actual words…that character arcs would make sense…that it would all come together brilliantly in the end despite some missteps along the way. Wow. I have personally probably contributed over $1000 to the SVM series…my own books and book sets I bought for others as gifts, not to mention countless others who only bought their own books after I bugged them to read the series and/or they borrowed some of my books which got them started. I hate how much I contributed – financially and otherwise – to what has truly turned out to sloppy writing by an author who is out of touch and resents the very people who have made her a very wealthy woman.

I really don’t think CH was true to herself…her ending truly doesn’t mesh with what she wrote. It’s not just S/S or S/E, it’s the way she did it. She is so disconnected from her own characters at the end, and writes with such a lack of love for them, that is the hardest part to digest. And I don’t know that I believe that she really meant for Sam to be the HEA all along – she could have made him more appealing while still developing Sookie and Eric or whatever else she was going to do to sell books. The best thing she could do as a writer is to never write a series of books again, she can write characters well, but unfortunately she clearly only has it in her to write stand alone books as she gets lost and bored and does not know how to properly write a story arc that continues over any length of time. I have been dedicated to this series because I loved her characters, not her ‘mysteries’ (and the ending is truly her biggest and lamest mystery of all) – and yes, I think Eric’s character is so well layered and fascinating on a number of levels, and clearly the most DEVELOPED character in the books besides Sookie. Despite this, it was (painfully) obvious she was always leaving a door open for Sam. But it was such a weak, uncomfortable, uncreative possibility that I couldn’t believe she would actually do it. I would have rather seen Sookie end up alone – with her and Eric’s characters intact – starcrossed lovers if need be but strong in who they were and true to themselves even if they couldn’t be together. I really think she either came up with this ending towards the last few books out of some sort of feeling of ‘because I can’(let’s face it, the ‘Maker’ does a lot of that – no ego there), or that the books took on a life of their own and got out of her control and she wasn’t smart enough to follow her own arc. I don’t totally believe she did it just for money (Bill, yes – but Eric, jeez the whole series was about him developing as a character right alongside Sookie!) because seeing it all in retrospect now, I just don’t think she is a talented enough writer to have played all those angles. Sigh. The lack of logic is the most mind boggling and frustrating aspect of all. What a sad way to end all of this.

The fact is, the books have been marketed as paranormal romance in many places. She has been, I’m sure, aware of that. She knew what the vast majority of her readers were expecting, and I’m not necessarily talking about Eric. I’m talking about a true happy ending, the PNR way. Those readers are the ones that made her money, the TB converts made her money, and what is the main focus on that show? Sookie and who she loves.

She knew there was going to be a shit storm when she took all that PNR money but didn’t give a PNR ending. And I don’t feel one bit sorry for her this morning, seeing her work trashed. My suggestion to her is: If you ever think about writing a series again, Charlaine, and you use supernaturals in it, and you have any type of romance in it, you’d better give people what they want. And again, I’m not talking about Eric – I’m talking about a romance story with an ending that fits the genre. And if you want to write mysteries, fucking write a mystery! Make the love affair a small part. Don’t string people along with a huge storyline of will they/won’t they.

It seems to me that CH was just bone weary of writing, talking, promoting, or even looking at anything Sookie Stackhouse. She just didn’t care anymore and wanted it to be over. What else are we to think?

If she’d written the “low-burning simmer” of affection which turns into love for Sam more clearly throughout the books, would we have kept reading? Probably not.

I can’t remember where I saw it, but there was an article about CH’s first encounter with readers who were begging to know more about Eric. As the years went on, people were more interested in Eric than Sookie. Thus, the comments from CH about how this is Sookie’s Story alone.

Then True Blood came along and it’s the same thing, people endure Sookie but are riveted to Eric, Bill, and Pam. Also, AB let out that private conversation with CH about her wanting to kill off Bill. Which was so uncool, in my opinion.

I’m not so sure CH was convinced from the very beginning that Sam was the man. I think she wanted to “put a stake” in this series and the True Blood series. When TB wraps up, will they keep the same ending?

Anyway, this post is going way to long… I can’t remember a long running series which was so poorly executed.

We were interested in Eric for several reasons 1. the author made Sookie interested in Eric and therefore we were and 2. the author made Eric very appealing in the way she wrote him and 3. we wanted what Sookie wanted and that clearly was Eric.

The author has no one to blame but herself for people loving Eric as much as they loved Sookie, (I know I cared about both equally) if she did not intend for Eric to get so big then she should have made the necessary changes and certainly not in the 11th hour. A story and it’s characters start to take on a life of their own once they are written and most times an author just goes with it, even if that is not what they originally intended and that is what I thought CH was doing with Sookie and Eric. This is where the end of DEA and all that happened in between made no sense, and was a big FAIL. In the end, poor Sookie got the shaft.

CH was not fond of Eric, but she realized that he was the “money ticket” for the series. So she kept writing him in a way that would keep us reading. CH did not want the story to take a life of it’s own. She didn’t care that the readers were being mislead. She wanted what she wanted and that was that.

I think everyone is in agreement that CH dubbed us with the last book. Which is why so many people are upset.

I get that but she still only has herself to blame for the why of it. I don’t want to hear this shit that ‘we read her story wrong’ because we did not read it wrong.It was her job as an author to make us see what she wanted to see,her vision as it were and she did not deliver. It was an epic fail.

So… she wrote the Coda so she wouldn’t forget what happens to her characters. *snorts* Did she get Amnesia with Eric in Book 4 and just now get her memory back that Sookie was supposed to be with Sam all along!?!?

I couldn’t read past that comment. I will not support her anymore. Over. It.

“Took a lot of side roads”. That’s a really mundane way of summing up books 2-8 of the intense and passionate relationship between the series heroine and the only suitor who shows her love and inspires her strength. You know, the filler. So basically the first few chapters of Book 1, one diner scene in the last book and the last 1/4 of the final book = what she really wanted to write. All the rest was a side road she was like, “how did I get here?!” Except she also totally controls her stories and characters and never lets the muse take her on an unexpected journey because she’s in control (per other interviews). CH defines contradiction.

This interview makes it so clear to me two things: 1. She is truly not a good writer and doesn’t see it at all. And 2. She took the money and ran with it while writing ” side roads” for a series she was “bored with” to the point that she wrote a companion piece for readers to BUY so she wouldn’t be bothered with “questions for the rest of her life” on characters/plots she “couldn’t remember”.

I’m trying to think of another instance where the creator of something popular exhibited as much disdain for their creation and fans. Everything she says and writes screams that she pounded it out for cash, period. Now leave her alone about it!

I bet she will say it was the fault of the editor that he wanted her to write more Eric, snorts, exactly as she dealt with decisions about the deaths of Martin at AT, and Bill. was not my fault! the publisher wanted it that way.

To be honest I was never a fan of Martin. In fact, I picked out her HEA in the first book and was confused that he disappeared for forever. I was relieved that she brought him back because IMO there was never anyone else I considered for her. I’m not a huge fan of those books. I should have gotten a clue from them that this would happen. I was relying more on the LB books for the HEA. Stupid me.

This just gets better. Ha Ha. It sounds like everyone associated with her, including herself, have at one time been political consultants. WTH. This is a sad way for things to end and her career will be the biggest casualty. We will move on but she won’t be able to.

“I wish I had killed off more people.” I bet one of those people is Eric. *sigh* I wish you did that too.
But seriously, what the heck happened to my SVM books? Because someone must have replaced them or something. This is not what my books tell me about DEA.

I find myself truly sad that this is the way the series is ending. My daughter got me involved in the books and I fell in love with them because of Eric and Sookie. If Sam had been a major suitor, I would not have been interested. This ending is just depressing, not only for me, but for Sookie & Eric. Unfortunately, I feel compelled to finish the series and read it for myself, but I am so glad that the German reader warned me in advance. To the German book store & the German reader-Danke Schoen!

Thank you so much for posting this! Yes it does seem that the writer was given the book summaries for a specific reason. I will be watching the EW comments for this article to see if any others saw that writing the same way. Agree that for the trunk scene they should not have taken the easy way out. Yes a rape is considered a sexual assault. They should not have spared the extra words when it came to that description. ugh..

CH can’t even remember which book it was she “got such backlash on” — it wasn’t DITF; it was “the overwhelming response to DAG [that] upset [her] badly” — so is it any wonder that the woman has such problems with continuity? *sigh*

The review is written in English if you want to check it out (please have mercy on the person who posted it – she probably bought the other books in translation, hence the reference to Fairies as Elf’s and the spelling Eric with a k at the end, which is the German version of his name – btw I hope she can get her money back).

I have mixed feelings about May 7th – my angry side yearns for the negative comments – my nicer side feels for all those poor people who avoid spoilers and are still to find out what they paid for.

I don’t feel sorry for anyone at this point who knows there’s a major spoiler out there that has people really upset. They are choosing to put money in CH’s pocket and that takes away any pity I have for them.

I actually texted a good friend and told her there was a spoiler out there, and because I knew she was a big EL, I wanted to let her know that I knew what happened. She said, “Is it bad?” and I said “Worse than we could have ever imagined” and she said “Damn” and then, “I’ll wait for the book.”

WTF? Okay.

I know I’ll have people that don’t agree with me on this one, but man – I’m trying to help you as a friend to save money. LOL At least say I’ll wait until I can borrow it from a friend, or at the library. LOL

My adult daughter and I have been reading these books together. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching her love for the story grow, and I’ve enjoyed having someone to share in the excitement of the books to come. She even requested a “Team Eric” t-shirt for her 21st birthday a few years back. That’s my girl.

So when the bad news of Dog Ever After broke last week, I decided to wait a bit to tell her because I didn’t want her to see just how truly upset I am about it. Then yesterday she text me with “SIX MORE DAYS!” So being the mature adult that I am, I text her back with “I am not buying it, and I will disown you if you do.” LOL!

I am doing my best to let my fellow SSN readers know the deal. They can be mad at me for spoiling it for them, and I’m okay with that. But as far as I’m concerned, CH is the one who spoiled it for everyone.

ohh.. me, im waiting for it to premier at the CLEARANCE TABLE. 70% off for the hardbound copy. that’s as much money as i am willing to pay for it. im still gonna read this trainwreck ending, but im not as excited as the previous years when i leave work early so i can grab the book on release date

I speak German, although I am a native English speaker. I just read the German-language reviews up on Amazon.de and they were outstanding. By outstanding I don’t mean they were positive reviews of the book. They were decidedly negative. However, they were very well-written, well-reasoned and backed up with a lot of knowledge of the book series and the author. It is only unfortunate that English-speaking readers will not be able to benefit from them.

Not so! I copied and pasted the 2 non-English reviews into google translate. One review translated a tad rough, but I got the main idea easily from both. I am actually giddy just thinking of all the shit reviews this book is going to get, in many languages.

You can also add a “bookmark” (google calls it a browser button) that will automatically translate the page that you are on, or specific text that you highlight. I find it’s much faster than cutting and pasting and then going to a new window/page/tab. Just find your language on the list below and drag it to your Links Toolbar. Think of how much faster you’ll be able to read angry reviews now!

I never once thought the ‘small but vocal fan group’ was in relation to Eric Lovers (at least the ones who did not tell her she was writing her characters wrong)because I thought we were a very big group of her fans.

She will find out soon enough just how large and vocal this fan group is.

“Absolutley ridiculous – from plot to character development (totally against the sookie universe from the prior installments) to the most heinous ending I’ve ever read. It’s not worth 1 star but unfortunately you can not mark 0 stars. Do not waste your money and your time.”

I saw the first episode on a free cable weekend. The story didn’t do much for me, but the sex was impressive. The lead went downtown on his ex, who is now married to the big-bad guy in town. It looked pretty damn authentic to me.

Why didn’t AB put THAT on TB? t surely would have helped season 4, amiright?

No, the ex was getting head from her husband. The lead and her don’t have sex until much later and the big bad has only screwed prostitutes (who he makes wear Amish headgear). LOFL Seriously, the story can’t hold up for long – I watch it like a trainwreck.

In an effort to look at this in a positive light, I just hope this EW article brings CH a whole new round of disgruntled readers blasting her on FB. The more people are aware of the fuckery that is DEA, the better, as far as I am concerned. I am tempted to go to B&N on Tuesday for couple of hours and tell anyone who picks up her book the ending. I wonder how long it would take before I would be kicked out.

Didn’t CH in some interview a while ago say that she wanted to write openly and frankly about rape because it had happened to her? What happened to “open and frank?” I know the synopses are marketing dep’t drivel, but she did have to approve them, I’m sure. Further evidence that she has abandoned whatever principles she may have had. Seems the sticky fingers of marketing took over the narrative as the series became increasingly popular, and this lame endgame is the result.

My library just got our copies a few days ago after I was worrying we wouldn’t have them in time. After staring at it forever I finally cracked it open. I’m on page 100 and something. After chapters 5 and 6, I’m so angry I want to burn it. Too bad it’s not mine to burn. Super insulting, insulting down to my very marrow. I’m so insulted I want to write her a letter telling her it’s not wise to so totally insult the intelligence her readers who are her bread and butter.
And that write up just oozed with derision for the fanbase. She sure is biting the hand that feeds.

Actually, the part that made me want to burn the book would have to be in quotations. I’m not sure it would be a good idea to put it here considering it hasn’t technically been released nationwide.
I started reading it trying to be open-minded about the ending though I was fairly crushed. But then she dropped a bomb on her readers which made me downright angry. I tried to read some of the first books in the series because they made me happy and I just can’t. She’s tainted them for me. I donated a few of the copies I bought to my library but whatever is left I am cleansing by fire in the backyard.
I’m on page 161. I have to finish what I started but at this rate, it’s just…ugh. I want to warn those of you who plan to still get enjoyment over the previous novels not to read DEA. It will suck whatever enjoyment you would have had completely out of it. The best coda to DEA would be if a vengeful and infuriated Queen Sophie Anne mysteriously reappears in a fighter jet and drops a bomb on Bon Temps.

I just read all the reviews on the German Amazon page. One posted on May 2nd entitled “Shameful is the key word here” mentioned the very item that made me want to burn my books. Harris completely smashed her civil rights metaphor and turned Sookie into a champion of bigotry. Is this her opinion on civil rights or is this just her character’s opinion on civil rights? WTH?

Everyone on this board should be ashamed of yourselves. How dare you bother Ms.Harris? OH poor, poor Ms. Harris. I am so sorry that we, your readers, are troublesome. I am so sorry that we are *wait let me correct that* WERE interested in what you wrote. I am simply aghast at the audacity of some people. Asking questions! PULEASE!! People should know their place and respect their betters. I agree wholeheartedly with your release of the CODA. Why bother yourself with the pesky task of speaking? That is most definitely beneath you. I will adhere to your wishes Ms. Harris and not ask you questions. Also, just for you, I will NOT buy your CODA. That way I will not bother you at all. I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong impression of me. So I hereby offer my most sincere apologies. So very sorry.

I knew Erik/Sookie were over when Amelia broke their bond. Why would Sookie willingly do that after all they’d been through, and if they were in love, if that wasn’t meant to be an out for the author to trash the universe and characters she’d created. That was the opening CH needed to put Sookie with someone else because she was no longer bonded to Eric. I stopped reading after DITF and now it looks like I’ll never finish…

If she was heading to Sam as end game, THIS was the line in the sand where Eric should have been dialed down. I would have been pissed about it, but to show in Book 11 that Sookie’s feelings for Eric were in fact magnified by the BB would have been an adequate heads up to this reader. It would have at least been workable in the overall narrative. Yes, it would have been a little clumsy and not without problems given what she’d already written, but it’d be NOTHING like this unholy mess. It would also make the transition from Eric to Sam make much more sense, and removed the need for the deux ex machina she was eventually forced to use, all because she couldn’t wean off the Eric Effect on her bottom line.

But no, she chose not to do that. She (or her editor, or whoever else stood idly by and allowed her to commit this act of career suicide) decided to show that Sookie DID in fact love Eric on her own. Doing this affirmed for the reader that everything she believed about the sincerity of emotion between the two was on the right track, and that what is IMPLIED by showing this – that they are end game – is what was intended. Why else would you even BOTHER obfuscating like that, for so long, if the relationship was to ultimately go nowhere?

She didn’t want to give us the heads up in DR because she didn’t want EL’s seeing the writing on the wall and jumping ship. She yanked this fandom along by the nose until the bitter end because it suited her purposes to do so.

I agree that the breaking of the blood bond was the opportune time to do a wind down. She could have introduced doubt into her feelings right there or cut them off completely. Then she could have built up to Sam…but wait…she put Sam with JannaLynn. Problem!

All of this is just poor writing and career management when it would have been so very easy to get around all of it. Even in the 11th book at the end she could have had them facing the fact that the wars were never going to end and it wasn’t going to turn out well for Sookie. Eric could have pointed this out in practical Eric manner and told her to choose to turn or they would have to end this part of their relationship. He could have remained her sheriff and protector and she could have moved on. Eric fans would have been upset but thrilled that he sacrificed his own happiness for her which would prove he loved her once and for all. CH could have moved along to Sam.

I think the whole mess of them involved in this book should rethink their careers after this Dog Ever After.

That’s been hard to accept. Instead of having Sookie realize her feelings were changing and choose to leave Eric we got “I do love you all on my own”, “what was the ONLY thing I valued, his love” and “Eric’s ONLY flaw is you”. We got a Sookie who desperately wanted it to work, who was even willing to leave BT for Eric. It was clear what Sookie wanted, I never dreamed she would get dumped and need a magical intervention to feel love again. I realize CH doesn’t write romance novels, but come on! It’s not like she hadn’t already obtained fame & fortune and couldn’t have taken the hit. Sookie deserved better. With this sad consolation prize ending, everyone loses.

The bad part is that with the introduction of different POVs, CH had the perfect opportunity to let us into Eric’s head so we knew the motivation. Instead, we’ll just have his word but there could be many things motivating those words and actions. On the other hand, by her doing that, we can imprint our own motivations on the way he behaves. I’ll read it but I’m going into it with the mind set that he’s doing all of this because it’s the only way to appease FdC for Sookie’s part in Victor’s killing. Sookie isn’t just implicated with Victor, she killed Victor’s henchman. She really did a number on FdC’s powerbase. And from FdC’s point of view, since Sookie is Eric’s only flaw and she orchestrated the takedown as well as took out the henchman, she is a danger as long as she has any contact with Eric. I’m not surprised she’s banned from Fangtasia. Anyway, I’ll see how it goes down but if CH does leave it open-ended which she probably will as is her way in her writing, then I can put on that whatever I want and I will make it consistent with the Eric I know. There’s no one to say it’s wrong.

Still thinking about this whole mess, and waiting to see the post-May 7th comments here before deciding if I will read the book. I was hoping for some closure with this series since it helped bring me back to reading after a long hiatus for work/husband/kids. The glimmer of hope to salvage things for me lies with fanfic … I’m desperate for Eric’s POV, but I do not envy DeeDee the task of writing it.

I left my own review of this mess with a 1 star. It’s mostly based on Sookie becoming an angry, profane bigot. I talk about the botched use of omnicient point of view and the shoe horned plot devices used to shove this down our throats at the very end. I also said we were told to the point of being schooled rather than shown the story.

I ended it by saying it reminded me of a saying Faulkner uses in The Sound and The Fury:

it is a tale
told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing.

(Shakespeare, MacBeth)

The idiot in the review being Sookie, the narrator. I did edit to make that clear. I’m not assuming CH is an idiot because she created some wonderful characters and wrote books we enjoyed. But Sookie, I felt in the last book devolved beyond where she was in the first book. She became, in the end, a washed out version of Arlene full of prejudicial hate, a profane mouth and pure selfishness. So to me she became the idiot full of sound and fury but signifying nothing. She negated everything she had learned and for no reason at all. It’s just pathetic and sad to me. Nothing that happened in the book bothered me really except that. The rest that was bad was just annoying.

CH could have structured her HEA (Sam) in a very current, relevant way. Safety and security are often the highest priority of those who have suffered traumatic stress. If I recall correctly, more WWII combat veterans went into the insurance business than almost any other business when they returned home because they knew firsthand the fragility of life and the importance of providing a stable environment for future happiness. They were “old” before their time. Sook may be old before her time, too. She’s been through a lot, supernaturally speaking, and is yearning for the safe, the predictable, the reliable. She’s pushed those qualities to the top of her priority list, over great sex, excitement, even power over folks without “disabilities.” A peek into her mind at the end of the book could have given the reader something along the lines of this rationale and let readers accept that although she’s settling, she’s doing so for the right reasons for her. That wouldn’t have been an HEA but it would have been understandable.

I think CH refers to Hunter as Sookie’s nephew because he calls her Aunt Sookie in the books. I know in my own family I have 2nd cousins who are the ages of my aunt and uncles and I call them Aunt and Uncle usually because it seems more age appropriate or something. On the other hand, maybe CH doesn’t remember that Hunter isn’t Jason’s kid, lol.

That was indeed a good read. I particularly enjoyed the comments of Meg Cabot and Nora Roberts. I loved how Nora Roberts spoke of writing being a partnership between the author, the editor, and the readers. Something went so wrong with this book. Surely her editor told her she was committing career suicide?!

My favorite comment from Nora Roberts:
The reader then becomes another partner—each individual one. A writer can’t listen to all of them, as they’ll often contridict each other. What one loved, the other hated. Who’s right?

Both.

But…

When a large group of readers agree, the smart writer needs to listen, and to consider. Just as she listened to her editor, and considered.

I loved that quote too. We’ve all heard how CH knew how the series would end since around Book 2. I used to be pleased by that, since obviously she had plenty of time to lead the story to this well-thought-out end. But given the results, I’d say this was a time where a decision made 13 years ago by a “seat of her pants” writer could have used some re-considering in light of where the vast majority of her readers expected and wanted it to go.
Whether she deliberately wrote Eric and Sookie’s relationship with a cynical eye to cashing in on their popularity then shafting her fans, or whether their story became bigger than she originally intended because that just happens- characters take on a life of their own and do things you never planned on- and she felt somehow obligated to “remain true to her vision”, either way, she was wrong. It’s not an artistic betrayal to change a bad decision.

she saw NO problem in changing their “artistic vision” when she did not kill Bill, on the pretext that he still had “story to tell” (cough TB money train cough cough), when he was only crawling through the woods like a creeper.

Zitat: ,,Your work must stand on its own. Any work that an author must explain in anyway is a piece of unadulterated crap without exception. The writer is irrelevant. Only the work matters in the end. If no one can read and understand your writing, you have failed. It’s that simple.”

I enjoyed the authors’ comments, but my favorite was Elizabeth’s: “Yes, I know it happens in real life. If I wanted real life, I would go the f*%k outside.”

It summed up how I feel about DEA’s ending: I know people settle in real life and that some people don’t grow, but I don’t want to read a novel about it. Especially not a 13 book long series that I invested hundreds of dollars and countless hours on.

Can we personally thank the person who released the spoilers? Because I am so thankful that I didn’t read the book and ruin my love of the characters.

Bloody DogBoy. DogBoy!! Christ I’d prefer she went with Terry Bellefleur than DogBoy!! At least they have PTSD in common!! I mean, yeah, save his life, grand, lovely, but shack up with the mutt? Good god no!!

If this was Charlaine’s Grand Plan, I wish Eric had killed her that first meeting in Fangtasia.

Can’t believe how much money I wasted on this fandom. You ladies and gents are fantastic, brilliant people, but she doesn’t deserve the money.

Go read some of the Literary Queen’s work Harris, Jo Rowling could teach you so much, like how to give a crap about your target audience (no way am I saying ‘fans’ in reference to her anymore. Stephanie Meyer and E L Smith have more of my respect, and I Hate those two, but they at least don’t try to backpedal this badly.).

LMAO Poor Terry Bellefleur. I’m glad he had a good ending. Isn’t it funny how little page time he had but we all care about him. Sam had quite a bit more and we’re like hmmmm he wasn’t all that interesting.

Let’s all send CH our therapy bills. I couldn’t even sleep last night after stumbling upon the evil ending. We’ve been had people. I would have rather seen her with Bill, hell even Quinn! I was willing to forgive her strange plotting in the last two books because in my heart I really believed she’d never do this. Did we all read the same books?? Having her end up with Sam is the equivalent of her ending up with Jason! UUGGGHH.

Has anyone posted this yet? It looks like the WSJ is painting Harris as a victim to her fans. It speaks of Bill as a character….but then only mentions Eric when speaking of the crazy fans. Or am I misreading it? The article FUCKING BLOWS MY MIND. Woman, we ain’t mad because you’re ending the series! OMG.

Oh, I definitely read it. And you’re right. IMO, they’re painting the entire Eric fandom with the “crazy fan” brush, which is both ungracious and disingenuous. I had no problem with CH ending the Sookie series, none whatsoever. And now that she’s done it, I’m just incredibly disappointed with the “how”.

The one positive I take from the WSJ profile? It finally says definitively that CH and her editor didn’t kill Bill because of TB and the financial implications it could have on the series. So, can we finally lay to rest the notion that book Bill had more story to tell, when it’s painfully obvious from the last 3 books that she didn’t know what to do with him?

“1101 BigMama 2007-12-11 21:25
Yes, most of us have shared some of the things that Charlaine has revealed at personal appearances over the years. In her words to me, “Bill may be somewhat redeemed in the future but he can not be totally forgiven.”

“888 AtlantaSassyBelle 2008-05-08 16:59
Bill is the only contender that we know is out of the running. All the others are still potentials.”

“460 aislyn 2008-01-10 14:05 I’m sorry, miss_pooh, I just can’t include Bill on my list of eligible men. I agree with crossfox (although in many ways I do hate Bill) that he is out of the running and has blown all of his chances. And CH has said the same thing. The best you may be able to hope for now is redemption for Bill.”

“465 aislyn Edited 2008-01-10 20:03 2008-01-10 20:02 miss_pooh, the veteran fans here have garnered all sorts of wisdom and info from the mouth of the creator herself. I’m still new and I have been trying to read threads to find her words, but even then, there is much that BigMama, Debim, Sonofnorway and others have heard directly from her at book signings, etc.
Here’s a few more:
Sookie will never become a vampire. Quinn is truly a good man. Eric will be in all of the books. Diantha survived the explosion. Bill is no longer a romantic possibility for Sookie.”

1036 aislyn 2008-09-17 13:26 I’m an eternal optimist (stop laughing, dallas) so I’m not discounting anybody until Ms. Charlaine specifically tells us to. If she had not said that Bill is out of the running, I personally would have thought after FDTW that he had a chance.

“998 dallasmc 2008-09-22 00:20 Squivel, Ms.Charlaine herself has said that Bill is out of the running romantically speaking, and she also has very emphatically said that Sookie will not become a vampire.
This isn’t stuff that people are over analyzing or extrapolating. She has actually said it, some of it several times. Whether she changes her mind later, that’s her prerogative. But as far as we know this is the truth.”
*********************************************
During season one of TB Charlaine, herself, had this to say:

“120 duckpond100 2008-10-17 08:01
Thanks, new readers and long-time readers. It’s interesting to see this rush of sympathy for Bill (fuelled, I believe because Stephen Moyer is so sympathetic).
The books will continue for the forseeable future, and I hope you all enjoy the result.
Charlaine Harris”

*note comment dates – the mods said Bill (as per Charlaine) was out of the running, both before and after CH’s comment about sympathy for Bill “fuelled by Stephen Moyer “-the actor, not the character.
*********************************************

After the release of DITF (#10) and prior to the release of DR (#11), Charlaine said this re. Bill in an interview with TB.net

CH:“Maybe it just means I’m having a last fling.”
“Maybe it means that Bill is still a viable suitor.”

Charlaine signed a new 3 book contract to write books 11, 12 and 13.
And thanks to True Blood, Bill had a whole new allegiance of fans. She wanted the BL’s on board. IMO.
Seems to me that CH wanted to bring the TB Bill fans into the SSN book fold and increase her readership AND her sales.
She dangled the carrot with the BL’s enticingly.
I don’t see any reason for any one of them to feel good about this, other than the fact it’s not Eric. LOL.
Many of the BL’s still got played and are disappointed that Sookie never gave Bill another chance. LIKE EVER.
Viable suitor? In what way? I remember the Bill fans absolutely *SQUEEING* over CH’s words.

Bill lover’s are McPeople with McMoney, too, and they hopped aboard the CH money train. All aboard! Last stop Nowheresville.

Seems my comment was swallowed up by the Interwebz. I recall that CH just chuckled conspiratorially when the trueblood.net interviewer prompted her about SVM Bill being a “viable suitor.” CH had to keep up the sad farce of Bill being anything but a dead man walking to shore up the TB fandom, which had been cunninly divided into “teams” by the show’s PR team in the post-Twilight world. Doing so made TB viewers possible readers of her later books and kept CH firmly in the AB camp. Both eventualities would do nothing but benefit CH. Although the BBs did seize on this quote as manna from heaven, I think it was the only time CH mentioned the character of Bill Compton in the entire interview.

This quote kills me “Part of the mixed blessing of having an ardent readership is they were rereading the books and catching the mistakes,” she said. It’s basically framed like it’s the fans fault for being such enthusiastic readers (the readers who enabled her to afford the new house outside of Dallas, I’m sure) – we fans are so cruel for burdening CH with pesky continuity issues. Ugh. I have no respect for that.

It also really bothers me that she was so obviously completely bored with Sookie and that is why she just started throwing stuff into the story like the fae. Geez. To quote TB Sookie “How fucking lame.”

I wanted to say I’ve enjoyed your posts on amazon.com and the very good discussion there. I’m left with only one faintly interesting question: I wonder if AB knew Eric wasn’t the HEA and that emboldened him to go with Bill as the lead. After all, a series about a bar owner living in a doublewide is not exactly HBO material. More like Swamp People/Duck Dynasty territory.

First – I have to say that I am disappointed when readers go overboard: personal threats and suicide threats are beyond the pale and sad for all involved.

There’s definitely a line between the author and reader, but both have a responsibility. I read the Holmes series in high school and was shocked when Holmes made a come back. I was ready for his death – he lived a dangerous life in the underbelly, bound to happen sooner or later. Given her circumstances, I thought Sookie had a 50/50 shot to make it out alive.

I wish there was an article about fans that are looking for strong writing. This is more about the crazy folks, with a brief nod to those that spotted inconsistencies. Seriously? I’m ready for the series to end. No problem with that. Just want something that rocks for Sookie.

My favorite part is the Ace plan to transition us with a short story on Sookie and the new series characters. No way, Jose!

It’s such an odd farewell – to focus on the nut cases who resort to death & suicide threats and who show up on her front doorstep. Then to admit that she’s not touring so she doesn’t have to deal with fans, even those pesky ones that would like her to do a spin off. It seems like the article would have provided some balance, include some of her positive fans experiences, or mention the majority of people who have been supportive and happy the series was finally ending. It’s not the readers fault she extended it when she’d lost interest & grown weary of it. So much negativity towards her readers, including the facebook fiasco of blaming spoilers on the poor reader who by no fault of her own, purchased the book early. It’s seems odd to me, but then she did know she was writing a book that would upset so many of her fans that she had taken
for a ride.

As someone said on the Amazon board, “CH, I rescind your invitation to my wallet.” Heh

A friend of mine who is fluent in German has read the Amazon reviews on the German Amazon board. She said that even in a different language, they felt as used as we are; so, even in a different language, they were blindsided by the Sam HEA –so, you see, we weren’t reading the books “wrong” and not picking up the clues –apparently it’s a multi-lingual case of shenangins as well….

The WSJ just wants to make excuses for this lame a$$ ending. But I do agree that CH ran out of ideas and can’t remember what she wrote in her previous books. No wonder it’s inconsistent. Are readers suppose to be responsible in remembering all the events that happen in each book, instead of the writer? I’m confused here.

Here is why the ending makes me so sad: I thought I was reading about love winning. Eric’s love for Sookie wins despite his 1000 year old hardened heart. Sookies love for Eric wins despite her better judgement. They have to struggle to be together against so many odds. They over came Appius and Victor and unsupportive friends. We thought we would see their “as close to true love as possible” triumph but is looses so hard, so hard. I am sad about poor character development and sloppy writing. I am sad that fans were strung along to sell books but mostly I am sad about this truly awful and synical view of love and life.

It is SUCH a cynical & depressing view. She didn’t even bother selling us on Sam so we could at least feel happy for Sookie. It’s bad guys win in the end, true love only hurts you, so here’s a magic pill so you can get over it & settle for what is left. Who knew that when I picked up a book series about a quirky & funny telepathic waitress who was finding an exciting new life for herself that it would have such a gloomy end that the author didn’t bother to fully develop. It could have blown us away. *sigh*

Harris had the chance to do something extraordinary, but she didn’t. I really wanted her to acknowledge how special Eric’s love was, but all she did was tear his character apart. So very disappointing.

Agree, the ending is so cynical. I’ve spent 4 years in this fandom and I never once heard a pro Sam argument that addressed Sam’s OWN merits (then again, Charlaine really didn’t spend much time developing Sam’s merits). It seemed to me that the pro Sam comments were in response to issues readers had with Sookie being with a vampire specifically the aging and the children issue.

Sam will age along with Sookie. Sam can get Sookie pregnant. Go Sam.

When someone makes these arguments it says to me they believe that love only lasts when a person is attractive, when you grow old you are no longer attractive, a woman must have kids in order to be fulfilled, and you are only a mother if your children are genetically yours.

By giving us a Sam ending it is like CH is condoning this view. What a great message.

And people actually wonder why I will never read another thing this woman has written.

I find it funny when I hear people say that Sookie wanted kids. I must have missed that during all me reads of the book series. If anything, she made it sound as if kids were not in the cards for her, due to the telepathy and her way of life. I never got the impression that she even desired to have a kid and now thanks to a deux time machine, she will have puppies! Poor Sook!

Well, what I have always liked about Sam, is how easy going he is. He has a laid back personality in contrast to Sookie, who is often frazzled. I also appreciate that he cares for his home, however modest it may be. He enjoys being outdoors, and gardening, and the sun, all things that rank high on Sookie’s list.

I know that those may not seem very exciting, but I saw these as things Sookie herself would value in a partner. Sam’s aging naturally and being able to give Sookie children, had little to do with it.

That being said, I wanted a flushed out relationship if it was going to be Sam. I, too, had fallen in love with Eric as the series went on.

She NEVER had Sookie wish for kids outside of one or two sentences. This out of 13 BOOKS. People are projecting what they would want on Sookie. Though I guess, until we hear from CH herself why she did it, they were right.

Also the thing that pisses me off the most is the fact that she’s expecting us to pay out yet again to get the Coda. Talk about adding insult to injury! Ms Harris can forget about it on my part – I’m not even prepared to pay for the final book, never mind another one that tells me how many puppies Sookie had.

In an attempt to better understand Ms Harris’s point of view of late, and wrap my head around
the rumours and self doubt I was experiencing, I did a search for her recent and past
interviews. Aside from the fact that she is rarely distinguished from the television production,
this proven difficult in ascertaining her candid views about the characters and the
process of writing. I began here at this site, where SVB and talented monitors compiled
thoughtful book excerpts and quotes from the author, especially on the issue of HEA. I
determined on that subject, I was not delusional in my belief of an 11 book indoctrination
of Sookie’s soulmate.

Candid interviews were difficult to come by primarily due to insipid entertainment writers
devoid of knowledge of the books. Most questions were superficial, sensationalizing the
discourse between readers and viewers only or the latest sitcom controversy of the show
( porn or Bill vs Eric stuff ).
I did note recent articles in Women’s Home Journal, where Ms Harris emphatically states
that she has ” no love for any of the characters anymore………. feel it a disservice to
continue writing if there is no longer a connection to them……….”
Wall Street Journal reviewed both fronts as book and show, but picked up on the
current ” backlash ” with disappointed readers and angry fans. Ms Harris goes
on to state that she’s received death threats ,etc.

What I’ve surmised from much of these, and my own disappointment is the clear
call of being duped. I believe Krtmd and many of you stated so eloquently in recent
posts, that we were not wrong in our assessment of the books, there was only one
way to interpret the novels ( for all the red herrings and time continuity problems
each possessed , but held on to the intent of portraying Sookie’s desire.) SVB
put it squarely that while Ms Harris may have envisioned the end story in the
beginning, she obviously pushed forward an intent to ” milk ” a winning storyline
to protect her growing nest egg . Ironically, the WSJ article quotes the book
publishers as stating ” there will never be another character as popular as Sookie “.
To that I say ” touché ” ! SVB also noted from several quotes, that C Harris states
” nothing is written in stone ” about the books or characters. Why the obligation
of sticking with a once considered ending felt right in light of the new romantic
direction just doesn’t make sense. In retrospect, it is ludicrous and without merit.
With the confusion, and the author’s response to fans, it’s no surprise that many
are disillusioned and hurt. There was no reasonable expectation of the about face,
for readers or a written path to follow for answers. Even avid fans whom purchased
the short stories ( which the author denied relevance to the SVM books) proved
unprepared. Many here would have entertained any story in earnest that sought
Sookie’s best interest and happiness. We had only the author’s account, the books
themselves.

Sorry for the long expression of ………. disappointment we all share. Thanks for reading.

Here is a selection from that blog SVB mentioned… Which I think sums up Charlaine Harris..

If the ending of the book suddenly takes a 180-degree turn from where it was going, for no discernable reason—if the author is being God for the sake of being God, not for the sake of the story—THEN I get mad. I may not like an ending, but if it fits with the rest of the book, if it’s a progression that makes sense to me, I can live with it. But if there’s a random or illogical or arbitrary ending (“And then they all got run over by a bus. The End”), where the author is in effect saying to me “I’m the author and I can do anything I want!”, that’s annoying. Yeah, the author CAN do anything she wants, but why go to all that trouble of creating characters and a plot if you’re not going to give them a decent ending?

I sincerely hope this mid-list mind-set author goes back into obscurity. So much for tolerance. In the last five books, the major theme I’m getting is that living by “southern Christian values” is paramount. Self-discovery doesn’t count for much anymore when one is invited back to become part of the small town gang again. So Sookie just really needs that townie validation of being the much vaunted “good woman” with a side dose of collie- lovin, trailer-parkin, drinks-slinging TIL she’s 45 and worn down to nothing. At which time, she will remember she loves Eric. And start screaming when she looks at Sam.

Amen. And I got angry that in book 13, Sookie is at stage 1 still thinking vampires are soulless and hell-bound. You meet fairies, maenads, vampires, weres, goblins, and who knows what else and you’re still concerned with small cultural narratives that by all rights should have been shattered by what you’ve seen and done? Really, Sookie? And even after all that if you still believed in what you’re gran told ya, you’re worried about hell after dating two vampires and being privy to bunches of murders- necessary ones, I grant, but still. The horse is already out of the barn on that one. No growth. Sookie returns to being the small town, small-minded Mary Sue. As someone said above, “how fu*kin’ lame”.
P.S. If all this time Sookie has thought that being a vampire means you’re to burn eternally, how does that make her any better than the Fellowship of the Sun folks? She may not have had angry words for them or attempted to crucify them but if this ending stands it means she used them for her piece of mind (the whole mental silence thing). How does that make her a lovable character again?

According to the 5 star reviews on Amazon, Eric got what he deserved. Maybe we are a more tolerant bunch over here, but I do not see how he was any worse than the other characters. At least he was honest about his struggle with feelings- which is one of the things that made me like his character. The reviews also mentioned Sookie’s growth had taken the only logical direction. I just cannot see how wanting to be accepted by people who ridicule you on a regular basis is where you would want to end up. The reviews and the ending just show me how much prejudice there is. Harris had many opportunities to end the relationship gracefully. Instead she made it painful and bitter. It is like the book is saying feelings only matter if you have a heartbeat. Sounds like they may as well hold a FOTS rally in Bon Temps.

I think Eric’s growth was just as epic as Sookie’s. Yes he struggled with his feelings but thats the point isn’t it- they struggled to even get together and then fought to stay together despite the prejudices from both sides. I’m sure Eric heard just as much from vamps as Sookie heard from her friends. Remember Pam way back in book 10 saying that Eric isn’t the same in his decision making and Sookie asking Pam if what she is saying is that she should stay away from Eric? Case in point.

I do think Sam has a significant place in Sookie’s life and is invaluable to her – as her BEST FRIEND. I never thought he really was interested in a relationship with her. My interpretation was that he stated this supposed interest in book 1 as a way to get her away from vamps because he knew what could happen to her and knew her fascination with them and suddenly not feelings like the only one that’s different would only draw her closer to them. Yes, attraction between the both of them but nothing more than that. When Bill asked her in DEA is she would’ve saved anyone else’s like with the CD I wanted to yell “YES you fool: Jason and Tara!”

Is there anyone that really liked this book besides Peppermintyrose? I would like to read their point of view on it and it would be interesting to read.

I agree that both sides were a problem. Eric and Sookie were too formidable a team to be allowed to remain together. A successful vampire/human relationship has implications both sides were not ready for. I also agree that Eric did change and grow, but it is not being acknowledged by the Stepford side. This is what bothers me. It seems that making Eric a punching bag is ok because he is a vampire and he cannot really feel. He deserves it because he chose power over Sookie. I do not agree with this.
He asked for her to use the CD because he knew it was the only way out. When she used it on Sam, she changed fate and sent a clear message to Eric. While I do not agree with the deconstruction of his character, I cannot really blame him for having enough. Sookie never really seemed to accept his love, and therefore could not give herself fully to it. She was being held back by what she thought she should be and by what she thought society wanted from her.
I believe the use of the CD was against the order of things. Maybe the cost was losing true love and being stuck where you were in the beginning. The Stepfords would not see it that way. They see it as growth. I see it as conformity. Maybe, in the end, Sookie gets exaclty what she deserves. Consequence or true desire? Doen’t matter, magic took care of that and she is okay with it. Yes, maybe exactly what she deserves.

“The Stepfords would not see it that way. They see it as growth. I see it as conformity.” Exactly, JAV. That’s probably the saddest part of all. But on the positive side, I don’t think Eric lovers are lock-step kind of people. Thank goodness for that.

So CH has always said Sookie will not have a conventional ending which I have always took to mean she would not end up married with children. What I think she really meant by that is that Sookie would not have an ending conventional to the romance genre she insists she is not writing in even though she really is. Nobody talks about the intricate plot lines because they are not there or not followed through with. I would liken this to Shakespeare (trust me I am not going to compare their writing prowess) deciding to end Romeo and Juliette with Juliette waking up before Romeo offs himself and then deciding that the whole thing is not worth it and they should just go back home and marry who their parents want them to. When you go see a Shakespeare play you always know if the ending is going to be happy or sad based on if it is a tragedy or comedy. The fun of watching or reading is how you get there.

I drank the kool-aid, and bought the book. (Like an idiot!) I am too OCD to not to have all the books and short stories in a collection together! I didn’t read the spoilers from this past week. I wanted to form my own opinions about the book! I’m not a lemming! I’m an avid reader! But, this has to be one of the GREATEST DISAPPOINTMENTS IN LITERARY HISTORY! (And I’ve read all the trite drudgery of the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer!!!) So that’s really saying something…But I digress!
I was completely discontented with DEA! The plot was convoluted and chaotic. It had too many subplots. Sookie had too many enemies. I think CH added so many enemies to throw us off the trail of Sookie ending up with Sam! It just didn’t make sense.
I didn’t like the de-evolution of Sookie or Eric. The break up was unemotional. It made me feel unattached. She had fought so hard to be with him. She was desperate for his love. They didn’t fight hard enough to be together. I just didn’t buy the break up. Eric had protected her before they were lovers. They had saved each others’ lives countless times. He warned her many times, even when his life and the lives of his people were at stake! I think he would have given her more warning than a midnight rendezvous and Karin’s protection. The whole “releasing from the marriage” was anticlimactic! Eric definitely needed his side of the story told! There was no transition from the Eric to Sam ordeal! It was too obvious that Eric was blackmailing Sam! And what about the repercussions of them sleeping together! No end to that storyline!!!
(This by the way was totally pointless!!!) It felt like she needed a sex scene so she added it. Sookie was much more careful with her choices in bed partners. And, after they slept together, she wanted things to slow down. Talk about MIXED SIGNALS!
Sam’s evolution took TOO dang long. From LDID to DL, he dated unsavory females. (They can hardly be called women!) He was such a flat character. The best emotion I could gleam toward him was indifference. And what happened those few days with Sam after he died?
Karin was the most un-evolved character I’ve read in years! Too much left to the imagination. What was the whole deal with her?!? What happened to her the past few years? I didn’t buy Eric leaving LA without any of his allies! (Especially Pam) She was not really believable as the sheriff either. I have no idea what purpose Bill served in the last few books. He should have died from the silver poisoning in DITF.
BTW! How the heck did Claude get out of Faery?!? Who released him from ‘fairy jail’?!? Why was he so angry with Sookie?!? He said it was because she didn’t want to sleep with him! Which did not make any freaking sense either! He could have used the same excuse Coleman had…it was her fault that Claudine was killed, his surviving triplet! He could have said that he kept plotting her demise, but she had too much power and protection to have so little fae blood. IDK! Anything but you won’t sleep with me! Idk all the story lines were complete and utterly asinine! And you would think that Arlene had learned her lesson the first time around after all those months in jail! Right? Self-reflection. Sookie spent 2 days in jail, it changed her. I don’t think that Arlene was as un-evolved as all that! Another question unanswered, who bewitched Alcee Beck? Who was in the woods behind Merlottes? Who clouded the minds of Johan Glassport? (And How???) Was it the same person that blocked the minds of the people involved with the bombings at Rhodes??? What kind of magic…witches or fae?
Speaking of Rhodes, why was Johan Glassport so willing to go after Sookie? He had no real motivation other than being a sociopathic murderer! He just didn’t seem to be a devious as a hit man. He seemed that he wouldn’t get his hands dirty (by killing someone) unless he had to! I think he cut the prostitute because she was a direct threat to him in some way. PS. No back story there! And why didn’t Johan want to Kill Steve Newlin? Clearly in ATD, he was the mastermind behind the Rhodes bombing. No vengeance there! It was clearly stated by Mr.C that, he was very angry.
How did Johan and Steve Newlin catch Barry, and not Quinn? Where did they take him? How did Mr. C and Diantha save him? How much did they know about Hunter? What would they have done with him if he had been found? Why were they such bad kidnappers? (The Pelts had done a much better job in DD!) How did they know Sookie would be at the dance hall? How did they know Karin was watching the house at night? How did she and Quinn not catch Claude lurking in the woods? What happened to Steve Newlin from CD to DEA?
I didn’t really understand the motivation behind Copley as well! That storyline seemed too complex. He only wanted the CD to control Amelia. Why didn’t he just cut her off? That seems more practical. Then, she would definitely need him! What was the deal with soulless people and magic? If Sookie is telepathic, why didn’t she Copley and Tyrese as dangerous? (She didn’t trust Tanya Grissom! She was right about her.) And what happed to Copley?
What is the mythology behind a devil? What is the difference between a devil and a demon? What does the devil do with the souls he collects? Does he live in a different plane like the Britlingens? Is a devil a form of fae? What is the mythology behind the genie briefly mentioned by Claudine in DTTW?
I almost stopped reading the book several times! There was wave after wave of disappointment throughout the book. This has ruined me re-reading my (previously) favorite series!
I think the most disappointing thing about reading the Sookie series is that there was such a lack of continuity and consistency! CH is a better writer than this! She really is! She can create characters and storylines with depth and meaning. She can take miniscule details and spin a vibrant narrative. She has such a talent that few writers’ have! It is such a shame that she wasted it toward the end of the series! I was left feeling melancholy and vacant! I hope that I never read anything this inane and inept ever again!

Sincerely,
Disenchanted Scholar
PS. The last season of TB was just as disorganized and absurd as DEA! They’ve lost a fan as well!

I was given the book as an early mother’s day present. I did want to finish the series and form my own opinion about this last book. I don’t think the multiple POV approach was a good idea in this case. It took away from whatever mystery there was supposed to be. I didn’t see much of a plot twist. I was happy to read that Sookie and Pam remained friends with Karin as well. I just don’t understand the direction that was taken with Eric’s character and the fizzling of Sookie’s affection for him so quickly.It was like he made the self sacrifice of being the only one punished for something (not sure what specifically), yet he was presented as being self-centered.
Sookie and Sam? From the early reviews, I perceived that there was no build up at all…there was a build up, it just wasn’t consistent with the way other relationship buildups were presented in the earlier books. (and it also seemed forced) The decision to take it slow after they had sex seemed to be out of character and made Sookie seem a bit loose to me.
My husband(who watches the show..but only listens to me chatter about the books) said it like this…”she doesn’t care what you guys think about these characters..she wanted to end this series and wrote something just to be done with it..she is going to make money regardless.”

Loved This site but never dared to comment before. Agree with your comment completely!!! Over the last 4 books I thought the Sookie character was developing some sort of dementia. After reading DEA I’m now certain that it must be C Harris that was developing the dementia.

I didn’t really wanted to make comments about this……… because it’s tiresome, useless and, after the epic failure of the fanfic version of TB among other reasons, somehow I also had lost much of the interest in the books. But I have to agree that this is an awesome rant indeed, and I felt obliged to comment. Especially because I don’t believe at all that Sam was the author’s first choice since the second book and because the covert explanation for all this mayhem has been written in the PS.

We will never have answers to all the whys, hows, whats or when from the inconsistencies of this monumental clusterfuck for a very simple reason, which was actually the primary reason that made me loose interest in the latest books:
The moment the author $old her $oul to the devil, I mean to The Bitch, I mean… The moment the author $old her character$ to The Bitch, I mean to Alan Ball… THAT moment the tv show began to bleed to the books. Or if you want to say it better, THAT moment Alan Ball began to control the author’s writing. It doesn’t matter if it was concious or unconcious or if it was just one of the contract’s demands. That’s the only truth. Perhaps that’s part of the mythology behind a devil and what he does to the souls he collects…

A lot of us went into denial, but the signs couldn’t be more clear than when she didn’t kill Bill and kept him alive only for TB’s sake. Then she began with a pattern of inconsistencies and real loose ends (the same as the tv show) and suddenly we began to read nonsense answers from Eric to important questions (like “Oops…”), and later Sookie even began to perceive her fae uncle atractive or sexy, and blah blah blah, until the books’ story became a cheap shadow copy of the show. So much so, that at the end of her series Sookie became the same trashy moron and one brain cell idiot from TB.

Therefore, Sookie and Sam will spend their pasion nights browsing the Supes’ Network forevah and evah… ad nauseum ad infinitum…
Until Sam betrays her with a gorgon, siren or any harpy that comes to eat at Merlotte’s. Because you know… Sam has this huge ad at the Supes’ Network, and all the greek and non-greek weirdos are fans of his strawberry blond hair. And Sookie will be happy serving burgers, chowders and beers (and petting their puppies in her free time) while he have sex and fun with his weirdos fans. That without saying that all of them will want to kill her just because… And all of this has to be true because you have to remember that the author made references not so long ago about the possibilty to write the adventures of Sookie and her partner after the end of the SVM series. It was so sweet and considerate from her part to think in that moment that we really would want to know… MEH! What a cynical manipulator!

So, I actually think that the author (I refuse to call her by another name… there can only be one Bitch in the neighborhood… and we couldn’t blame her for trying to make a fortune at our expense during all these years and for $elling her characters to the Bitch in order to get it… right?) couldn’t find a better and more symbolic title for her last book than it is “Death ever After”. Because she not only killed her character of Sookie Stackhouse, but she also digged her own tomb as succesful writer among her own fans. Just hope she had known how to invest her fortune wisely.

Because money doesn’t last forever.

PS. If someone feel ofended with my opinion, please, feel free not to read it, not to like it, or simply delete it. I also feel offended by the manipulation that we all have been subjected to and by the cynical and unethical ways that were used by the author to make a fortune at our expense. In fact, those who really know me also know for sure that I actually didn’t write everything I really wanted to say…

Also, anybody wonder about *who* it was that was standing next to Sookie during her use of the CD to save Sam, that the devil took possession of momentarily?
With Eric’s severe change in personality I thought instantly that maybe he’d decided to sell what was left of his soul to endure 200 years of indentured sexual servitude with ol Freida and cope with a broken heart;)
Or maybe the spinoff series everyone hopes for will come to fruition “Northman TAkes Oklahoma”

Won’t be interested to read any of her book at all. Her treatment of her fans is enough to erase her out of my reading list. I won’t support authors who think that they are above everything and treat their readers like idiots by giving subpar writing. I like Sookie from 1-9, she got my thanks when I give her my money but nothing else. There’s so many good authors out there whose skill is far more superior than her and care about their writing and integrity as a professional writer.

I have asked this very same question. I have received Eric and Alcide as options, but when the devil speaks of it- it did not seem to me as if he tried to take it during that moment, but rather soon afterwards. I am actually thinking more on the lines of Sam, but I haven’t read back to check to see if it is plausible. To me- it is another reason why he was acting so strange… Remember in the book Sookie & Sam say how he was okay right afterwards and during the ride home but sometime during the night (I guess) things changed for him. That’s what I think it was.

Found an UK independent review of DEA today. Mentions the read as ” not intriguing. central
plot is really just an excuse for Harris to bring back various characters and give them their
happy endings or suitably gruesome deaths, tying up loose ends. ”
” And you may not like the endings certain characters get. One who’s been particularly prominent
throughout the series gets a couple of brief cameos and is written out. Given Sookie’s relationship
with this individual, it’s startling how little she seems to care. ”
Miriam McDonald wrote the review.

I am soooo, disappointed! The villians are terrible, Sookie is shallow, Bill only cares about getting Eric, and the CD made them fall in love? Really! I will never buy any of her books again she seemed tired and irraitated with the last book in the series.

I hated Bill’s character more than ever after this book ended. He was completely juvenille regarding Eric. And, I don’t understand the logic behind it either. “Remember what Eric did to me?” Ummm- that bit of truth was going to reveal itself one way or another. I doubt Sophie Ann would’ve spared Sookie that info. Plus, he should be thanking Eric because instead of seeing Sookie being hauled off as Sophie Ann’s slave Eric ended that possbility right then and there by informing Sookie of the truth so knew what was up.

I have been in a strange state of calm after reading the books. I really didn’t know why the events hadn’t affected me more ’til I read your post. You are right- “the book was awful” and I should be sadder but I am not.
There were some nice moments, but for the most part it was forced and rushed and senseless.
I knew there was a chance that Eric and Sookie might not have their happily ever after:
*Two reasons why this should have been:
1) Eric dies- which would suck but, of course, I held it as a possibility.
2) Eric separates from Sookie to save her- (How Bill lays it out for Sookie during book 12 explains what a tight situation Eric was in, so I accept it as fitting into this option.)
Sam was always the next choice for me. If she couldn’t have passion then, hopefully, she could have peace. BUT I should still have been sad about their separation- but I wasn’t. I closed the book after their argument on her porch for a few minutes but reopened and carried on just fine.
To sum it up- Thank you for writing this book this way Mrs. Harris- If it would have been better written and properly developed- I think that I would still be in tears, now, days later. YAY FOR NONSENSICAL HAPPY ENDINGS!

I didn’t read the spoiler because I wanted to be read the book for myself without being affected by other’s opinions. To tell the truth, I was excited by the fact that something happened to get everyone talking. I expected the typical “love scene” between Eric and Sookie to be the end and honestly wasn’t looking forward to it. I was proud that CH stuck to her original plan for her story. I thought it was brave. I didn’t care whom Sookie ended up with as long as she was happyand made sense because my investment in these stories was Sookie.

Then I read the book. I can’t express in words how disappointed I am. I’ve been thinking about what I’ve read all week trying to understand why CH would do this. I ‘ve even read Pmtyrose’s blog which supports the book and it’s ending in hopes that it may shed some positive light for me and open a new train of thought – NOPE. I’ve tried to re-read it but I can’t get past the first few pages.

I feel as if I read an entirely different story. Sookie’s character is not the Sookie I’ve been reading all these years. Eric is not the Eric that I’ve grown to known, even Pam is different! And I’m insulted that I wasn’t given the opportunity to say good-bye to these two vampires that were so prominent in the storyline. The sex scene between Sookie and Sam was the saddest thing I’ve ever read. CH’s dissinterest has never been more apparent.

And the ending ,not just Eric’s, was dissappointing. I think Sookie has one year left to live. Who’ve going to enforce Eric’s “wishes”? (Wishes, not even demands) Who would care? There was already and attempt on her life as soon as the divorce was final. What about when Karin isn’t there? Or when the wards get weak? Or when she’s somewhere else? Felipe doesn’t even have to follow this “wish list” – accoriding to Pam and why would he when Eric leaves? He didn’t seemed concerned when Host broke the “wish list”. Ha basically said “Opps, sorry”. To me, that’s why Sookie doesn’t want to commit to Sam and define their relationship – because she knows her life is done for. So so so sad.

This is a great post. I would suggest that you copy/paste to Ms. Harris’ site, but guess what- the mods would probably delete it b/c its a total love fest over there (sarcasm intended). SMH.

I’m definitely an Eric Lover, but I had gotten to the point where I was ok with Sam as the HEA. I had a feeling at the end of the last book that was where things were heading. I didn’t like it, but I still planned to enjoy the last book for what it was. That was until I realized that everything I loved about the SVM Series had been ruined. Sookie has apparently had a lobotomy, and her brain was replaced with True Blood Sookie. Eric’s cahuna’s were chopped off unmercifully. Sam became even more boring than usual. And even Pam wasn’t that interesting. SIGH.

I invested a LOT of time in these books. I mean I’m embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve read this series over and over and over again. For the series to end this way is such a disappointment.

Why did CH turn Sookie into a bigoted small minded ho? A ho with a dog no less. Why would you turn your main character into a small town TRAILER TRASH? Literally Sookie is now the proud owner of a trailer behind a bar…is it at least a double wide? I forget?

Yea, I wanted to take that point across by posting quotes and events that happened in the previous book and compared them to the ending. They deleted it. I guess they have to keep the “maker”(of BS) happy.

I totally agree with the “Sookie has one year left to live” statement. That’s what I was thinking when I read that…I see no reason why, assuming Karin is even able to protect Sookie for that year, it would stop anyone from coming after her once that time was up. And it’s not just vampires, the entire supe world knows about her…Eric was able to protect her better than anyone else – and her worst moment (which her own heritage brought upon her, not the vampires), being tortured be Neave and Lochlan, would have been her last without the vampires. Regardless of whether he and Sookie were going to end up together, the Eric we know would never have given away an extra 100 years of freedom (I don’t believe he would have given up the first 100 as easily as he apparently did) for smoke and mirror protection of Sookie. He’s smarter and prouder and – all else aside, craves his own freedom too much – to do something for so little and such a weak return. And, according to Pam, just to make himself essentially look better in front of his new bride? Giving up 100 EXTRA years of freedom to make him look more appealing to her, when that clearly wasn’t a problem in the first place? So implausible. So out of character. Based on how she ended things, the most honest thing CH could do in that coda is to let us know who shows up for Sookie’s funeral in the not too distant future.

Psrt of Eric’s “wish list”, which according to Pam was the selfish part, was for Sookie NOT to find out that Sam asked Eric for the bail money – there was no specification as to whom could/couldn’t tell that secret, just that she wouldn’t find out. Who informed her about that? Bill. What happened to Bill whom went in direct order of Eric’s “wish list”? Nothing. Just goes to show how powerful and respected this “wish list” is.And why would other supes respect the wishes of a vampire? Ch couldn’t even write it as demands or conditions/stipulations of his marriage with Fredya.

Why would Felipe give up a powerful sheriff with a profitable and established area whom had vampires that respected and obeyed him? A sheriff that was loyal to his King? Please explain it to me someone.

Okay,
so I’ve finally read it, I’m not surprised at the ending, just really saddened. As a previous poster wrote,Bill practically spelled it out to Sookie in the last book, if Eric stayed with Sookie, their life together would be untenable.(I thought this was a trick for us to throw us off the scent)

What bugs me the most is apart from the helter-skelter to the non-ending was the total irrelevance of some characters that brought nothing to the story.
Hardly any time was given to key players,Eric,Bill and Pam who all needed to tell their stories with proper explanations.”the walls have ears” doesn’t hold with me, Ms CH is a fiction writer and can make the stuff fit.

Instead of giving time to tell us about why Mr Cataliades was running from the hell hounds, we have the non-important appearances of Claude,Barry. QUINN!!!

The biggest let down for me was the poor authorship of the book.
I never used to be into paranormal, I read stuff too depressing to read any more and The SVM was new and exciting for me and was a springboard for the whole genre where the imagination has no real boundaries.

Through the Sookieverse I have read loads of stuff recommended here, and I’m afraid that I have been spoiled by the superior writing of other authors.
This last year I didn’t do a reread like I usually do I had a feeling I would be let down; but I have reread Jeaniene Frost, Patrician Briggs and Karen Marie Moning and have been so impressed that I kept my rereads to them.

I’ve also developed an interest in YA literature another new thing for me and been highly impressed, so to download (my first Kindle SVM)DEA,and read it over several days!; the difference in quality after missing a year was astounding.I couldn’t believe I was reading the same author (I did think at first that it had been ghostwritten)

CH wrote that Sookie and Eric’s love was real, Eric loved Sookie all the way through the stories, Sookie put her life in danger in every book, and to dismiss her love for Eric so quickly by her sleeping with Sam and being so “over” Eric that she could do so makes no sense, no sense at all. Well guys sorry about the rant off to read some CH; Colleen Hoover, try her !

I was fine with the book, right up untill the part with the divorce. You knew it was coming, we all did, as soon as Eric arranged the meeting, but really?!? I started the chapter thinking, ‘okay, this is gonna happen now, but at least they’ll be some proper speech between Eric and Sookie, at least Eric won’t go down completely without a fight, atleast Pam might have something to say about this and atleast Sookie might find a little spirit’. How wrong can a person be? I read through the scene with an open mouth, disbelieving what I was reading. Not one single character came out of that situation with any integrity, or a shred of the character they have been for 12 books. I know Eric had to ‘behave’ in front of his new bride, but when has he ever played by the rules… Espically when something he values, loves and admires is being taken from him. The way CH wrote Eric here, it seems like he couldn’t care less.

Then, just to discredit Eric completely and utterly, CH does two things. The first is the agreement with Sam. As soon as Sam became strange and ‘unable’ to speak to Sookie, it was plainly obvious why, just purely becuase of the way the divorce played out. For one, why would Eric do this? I know he is proud and has always doubted Sookie and Sams affection for each other. I also know that Eric has shown moments of evil that make him such a great vampire. However, as stated by many people in the former books, something about Sookie just weakens Eric, he hasn’t had someone like her in hundreds of years (if ever) and she affects him in a way knowone else can. If he had so desperately been trying to find a way out of marrying the queen, he would of surely not wanted Sookie to end up with someone who he knows damn well, she does share a sort of (don’t shoot me) chemistry with. Ms Harris turned Eric Into something I never saw him as before with this action alone. She took away every bit of humanity she had given Eric in the past few books.

The second thing I don’t understand is the convosation Sookie and Pam share at the end. One of the few things I liked about the ending was Pam becoming Sherrif btw, but that’s neither here nor there. I can’t remember exactly how Pam phrases it becuase I don’t have the book to hand, but Pam says something along the lines of Eric only being for Eric and telling Sookie not to confuse his actions with the bail money as being sincere and loving, but as being selfish and as a tool of looking loyal to his new Queen. This really stuck the knife in for me. It was unnessercary to take this last bit of respect Sookie had for him, away, and completely out of character of Pam to say something she knows will look bad on her maker. The only reason I can think of, is that it’s to take the last bit of love Sookie might be harbouring for him away, so she is able to let Sam in.

I had come to terms with a S/S ending, if it had been written properly, If it had a proper buildup, if she hadn’t discredited every character she spent 12 books building and if she hadn’t completely pushed Eric out as quick and easily as she could, for a simpe life. I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT TO THINK ANYMORE.

One last thought and then I will move on. If CH was tired of Sookie and wanted to end the series, why didn’t she think of hiring a fan to ghost write the last book with her. At least it would have had some “human” moments and dialog. This book was so flat and lacking any real emotion.

Having done another read-through of the last 12 books, I’ve finally got to the acceptance part of grief with the S/S ending. I’ve not finished DEA yet and actually am not very far through, but I’m glad I had some warning and I do want to make my own judgements of what happens but I do know I’m not loving the sound of it.
There are some ever so slight hints at a Sam HEA in previous books, at least with some hindsight, but they were so pale, so boring and nothing compared to the times shared with Eric, even if they got hard.
It’s been nice reading all these comments to prepare me for what’s to come. I have to read it though just to get some closure for the end of the series.
I never had the chance to sign up with this site, but I hope this will not be the last public update, as I’ve found this whole thing reassuring and a good place to see the opinion of others. I just regret never having shared mine before. Thanks SVB

I think most people were aware of the the little Sam moments dropped throughout the series, it’s not that we missed them, they were – as you say – ‘pale’ and ‘boring’ and I for one thought it was a red herring because what a mess it would be if she actually did it. Yes, what a mess for sure… Sookie and Sam had the worst chemistry of any of her suitors, and Sam really wasn’t this awesome, upstanding guy some people seem to think he was. Not everyone will agree with me – but intentionally dating someone (the Maenad) that intentionally almost killed one of your best friends (that you have a crush on none the less) is as unforgiveable as Bill’s rape…and, not excusing it, but Bill at least was out of his mind when it happened. Sam tried to explain it away as not understanding her nature. And in ‘Small Town Wedding’ he was really a jerk…no one liked Jannalyn, but she was still his girlfriend and he didn’t tell her he was bringing his crush to a weekend away family wedding – shady. He bragged about taking Sookie on supe websites which endangered her life. He hit on Sookie, who he knew had a boyfriend that she said she loved, while there and it was uncomfortable and awkward and unwanted (paraphrasing). Not an upstanding guy at all. He was a good boss, but he was not even that great a friend on a lot of levels. Yes those hints were there that CH was leaving that door open, but it seemed like such an awful road to go down I couldn’t believe she’d really do it. Sookie would have been better off alone if she and Eric weren’t going to be able to make it work.

In that respect my comment wasn’t worded particularly well It’s just that when I read the spoilers I think I forgot all about these little things and just couldn’t picture how she would have made it work. I see a little clearer now.
But yeah it’s just disappointing that she did take that path when Sam has done all you just said and more.
He’s not even that interesting or very likable and I’m sure I’d still feel that way even if I wasn’t an EL. But I spose that says it all regarding CH’s feelings towards this series now

I had moments of worry over the ending until STW. When Sam talked about how it did not work out with his previous engagement, I knew he was a cheater. He wants to have the good girl on his arm and the bad girl in the bedroom. This was never directly said, but it is how I perceived it. Sam brought the good girl home for his image because he knew his mom wold not approve of Jannalyn. Sounds to me like there is a little bit of using going on.
STW also kept mentioning how she could hear shifter thoughts. Until the reversal in DEA, I did not think a relationship with a shifter was possible for Sookie long term. Both of their abilities to block could not be sustainable.
I never like the attitude Sam had with Sookie. The FOTS patrons and the marriage by knife stick out for me. When he chastises Sookie for speaking her mind about Pam and Amelia, he really made me think about his character. He desires his acceptance so much, he is willing to defend people who would kill him if given the chance. He takes his normal self-righteous attitude to put her in her place because he can. She is his.
Anyway, so I agree with you Annabelle. Eric and Sam both have faults; however, Sam is the only one forgiveable. He can say hurtful things, pretty much call her stupid, and it’s ok because he can change. A change that took his dying and a lot of magic to make it happen. Something to think about.

Alright, just finished DEA… Could not be more shocked or upset so naturally the first thing I did was come to the sookieverse! What a complete disappointment the ending of this book was, what was such a wonderful series has gone steadily down hill the last few books. The inconsistency of DEA is appauling and makes zero sense, as an avid reader of the sookie books I can honestly say I never imagined it would be SAM of all people. The ending of this book was unsatisfying and make sme feel as if the past decade of loyalty to this series was all for naught! I am extremely unhappy with charlaine and her attitude towards a million dollar series that has for nothing but grant her fame an wealth. *snorts*